


The Protect Eliot Job

by thewightknight



Series: Ridiculous Crossovers Nobody Asked For [16]
Category: Leverage, Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 13:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/pseuds/thewightknight
Summary: “Eliot Spencer?” Reese repeated, wanting to make sure he’d heard correctly. Or maybe it was someone else, a different Eliot Spencer. “Are you sure I’m not supposed to be protecting someone from him?”





	The Protect Eliot Job

**Author's Note:**

> I missed PoI when it first came out and am slowly making my way through now. Of course, I saw a few possibilities.

“I’ve got a new name.”

“Who is it?”

“Eliot Spencer.”

Reese stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, frozen.

A businessman in a suit swerved, narrowly missing running into him. “Asshole,” the man muttered as he passed.

He stared at his phone in amazement, then put it back up to his ear.

“Eliot Spencer?” Reese repeated, wanting to make sure he’d heard correctly. Or maybe it was someone else, a different Eliot Spencer.

“Yes. Former Black Ops, retired, now working with a rather unique group of people.”

“Define unique.”

“They seem to specialize in retribution.”

“Are you sure I’m not supposed to be protecting someone from him?”

“They practice non-lethal methods. Most of their clients are in need in some way or another.” Finch paused. “I take it you are familiar with this individual?”

“You could call it that.” When someone else jostled him in passing, Reese started walking again. “We’re not going to be able to work this like other names.”

“Why is that?”

“Because there’s no way I’m going to be able to watch him without him knowing.”

There were too many people in New York. It was exhausting, watching so many people all of the time. When Nate sent him back to the apartment they’d rented with Hardison and Parker, Eliot let himself relax just the tiniest bit. He couldn’t relax all the way, not with the group split, but there was a slight lightening of tension when he unlocked the door. That reprieve lasted all of five seconds – until he saw the man sitting in one of the padded chairs in the living room.

“Hello, Spencer,” the man said.

“Reese,” Eliot said in response. Reese sat with his hands on the arms of the chair, one leg crossed over the other, with no weapons in sight. That didn’t mean anything, but Eliot didn’t go straight for his gun.

“You know this guy?” Hardison asked.

“Yeah, we know each other,” Eliot said.

“And I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess you aren’t best buds?” Hardison made a joke out of it but he’d tensed, waiting for Eliot to make a move.

Eliot snorted and walked further into the room. “Yeah, you could say that. Relax. If he was here to kill us at this moment, he wouldn’t be sitting there.”

“Actually, I’m here because someone is going to kill you,” Reese said.

Eliot’s eyebrows shot up. “Lots of people are always trying to kill me.”

“Yes, but this time they’re going to actually do it.” 

This wasn't some kind of stunt. Eliot could tell Reese was serious about this, and if he thought there was a danger, then Eliot had better take it seriously too. Or, at least as seriously as he normally took this kind of thing. 

“And you know this how?” Hardison cut in.

“Yeah,” Parker added, putting on her best threatening face, which always felt to Eliot like being scolded by a teacup terrier. “You know this how?”

“My partner and I have some … inside knowledge, let’s say.”

Eliot didn’t like that answer but one look at Reese’s face told him he wasn’t going to get any more information out of him at the moment. Hardison would find out soon enough. “And you’re gonna stop them?” he asked.

“Yes.” Reese delivered his one-word answer with a certainty Eliot could appreciate – this was someone else who was good at his job and knew it.

He couldn’t resist pushing a bit. “Isn’t that the opposite of what you do?”

“I could say the same of you nowadays. Looks like we’ve both changed jobs.”

“So you’re here to protect Eliot?” Parker asked. When Reese nodded, she smiled. “Okay. I like you. For now, at least.”

“Don’t mind her,” Eliot said. “She’s always like that.”

Protecting Eliot was like babysitting a panther – a cranky antisocial panther with a death wish.

“Do you have to throw yourself at trouble?” Reese asked when they got a breather.

“I don’t have to, no,” Eliot said, then ducked. Reese took the punch intended for him on the cheekbone. “That’s going to bruise!” he shouted as he surged forward.

“Asshole,” Reese muttered as he broke the arm of the thug who’d hit him.

“I heard that!”

Eliot had accepted his help on the condition that Reese either left him at the apartment while Reese provided the protection he’d normally give his teammates (unacceptable) or come with them on their job and provide cover for Eliot while he did what he normally did (still unacceptable). Reese bowed to the inevitable, and that’s how he found himself in the middle of a con to uncover a corrupt pharmaceutical exec. It was, he had to admit to himself, the most fun he’d had in years.

Reese couldn’t decide whether it was the runaway (or not) taxi that he’d yanked Eliot out from in front of, the stray shot in a gunfight that would have hit Eliot square between the eyes if Reese hadn’t jostled him while knocking out one of the execs security team, or something else he’d missed entirely, but they emerged from the scheme mostly intact.

While they’d been the distraction, Hardison had hacked into the firm’s mainframe and found the data that incriminated two vice presidents and the CEO as well as their target, and had also liberated a hefty portion of their ill- gotten gains.

Part of it, he learned, Hardison had siphoned into offshores accounts he linked to their target. Part of it went to the woman who’d hired them, to reimburse her family for the medical expenses they’d accrued and buy them a new house. The rest, the crew divided up between themselves. They offered him a share, but he declined.

“So, that’s it?” Eliot asked.

“Looks like. Unless your name comes up again. But we’ve never seen the same name twice,” Reese replied.

“Eliot’s special, though. You never know. Maybe we’ll see you again!”

Parker sounded worryingly happy about the prospect. Reese started to say _I hope not_ but instead waved at her as he let himself out. The sounds of their celebration trailed along after him as he walked down the hall.

When he reached the elevator, his phone rang. “Finch,” he said, without even checking the ID.

“Interesting group there,” Finch said.

“Agreed. They do good work. Nice to know there’s folks like that out there. Not everyone who needs protection is about to die.”

“Speaking of which – I’ve got the next name.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you want to say hi, [check out my profile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/profile) for where I’m currently hanging out on this here internet thing.


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